Video: Taco Bell airlifts 10,000 tacos to Alaska town

Taco Bell on Sunday flew in 10,000 tacos to the remote Alaska town of Bethel, an event spawned after a local hoax claimed a Taco Bell franchise was opening in the town.

The feast began at 1 p.m. after a Taco Bell truck was carried by helicopter from Bethel’s airport to the cultural center, as shown in this YouTube video. For the next four hours, many of the town’s 6,200 residents stopped by to eat.

Taco Bell’s introduction to Bethel began in early June when flyers went up around the city claiming the fast-food chain was opening a franchise in town. Residents were excited, as Bethel has a Subway, but no other restaurant chains. Yet, the flyers weren’t real, and it all turned out to be a prank, resulting from a feud between two locals.

Taco Bell executives heard about the hoax and decided to smooth things over. "If we can feed people in Afghanistan and Iraq, we can feed people in Bethel," Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed was quoted by media a few days before the event.